HISTORY OF HIGHWAY 28, aka Moonshiner 28

Portions of North Carolina 28, mainly the section between Franklin and Highlands shared today with US 64, date back to 1922. The post card reproduced on this page showing Cullasaja Falls was made sometime in the late 1920s and shows the roadway as unpaved.By 1935 it had extended from the North Carolina/Georgia State Line to Lauada at today’s intersection with US 19/74. It had also been extended southward into Georgia and South Carolina.

There were early roads along part of this route which connected various small communities, but they were not officially designated and were extremely difficult to travel. Maintenance performed by nearby residents was rudimentary at best.

After the construction of Fontana Dam in the mid-1940s NC 288 was submerged under the newly formed Fontana Lake. A new highway was constructed on the southern edge of the lake and designated as a continuance of NC 28 all the way to US 129 near the Tennessee border. The land to the north of Fontana Lake became the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Fontana Project resulted in the destruction of NC 288 in 1943. Some 1,300 families had to be relocated. In the process twenty-eight cemeteries were moved to higher ground on the northern side of the lake. The Federal Government promised to build a new road along the north shore so families could access these cemeteries.

By 1969 the road from Bryson City had only been extended for 5 miles and the remaining twenty-six miles was never completed. Swain County has been in negotiation with the Federal Government for decades over what has become known as ” The Road to Nowhere”. Descendants of those buried across the lake have to take boats and hike to visit the gravesites.

The old NC 288 ended at US 129 right at the Tennessee/North Carolina State Line. Part of the old road is still there at the entrance to Cheoah Overlook and running nearly 3 miles easterly to a dead-end. The new Highway 28 was relocated farther to the south paralleling Cheoah Lake.

Map 1921Map 1921 of old NC 288 from Tapoco (upper left) to Almond. This was before Fontana Dam flooded the towns of Marcus/Wayside, Dorsey, Ecold, Collinwood/Chambers, Bushnell and Judson. Towns north of the lake that were abandoned along Hazel Creek include Proctor, Sugar Fork, Bone Valley and Medlin.

Road CrewRoad Crew working in the area circa 1900.

Cheoah Dam 1930Cheoah Dam 1930, now known as Fugitive Dam. Harrison Ford jumped from the dam in the 1993 movie "The Fugitive".

Tapoco Lodge 1930sTapoco Lodge 1930s.

NC28 1930sNC 28 1930s Post Card.

Fontana 1940sFontana Village 1940s, shortly after completion of Fontana Dam.

Fontana Village circa 1950Fontana Village cabins circa 1950.

Fontana 1956Fontana Village circa 1956.

NC28 1957NC 28 1957 Post Card.

Fontana Dam 1960sFontana Dam 1960s.

Nikwasi Indian MoundA late 1800s photo of the Nikwasi Indain Mound, located on NC 28 near downtown Franklin.

Cullasaja Post CardCullasaja Post Card, circa 1928. The card was printed as a mirror image which made it hard to identify.